New Eagles coach Steve Addazio signed two additional quarterbacks to his initial recruiting class, much to the surprise of Xavier High standout Tim Boyle, who had already committed to BC. So, the three-star QB from Xavier decided to decline the Eagles' offer and reopen the recruiting process.

He didn't look very far.

Boyle, the Connecticut High School Coaches' Association Player of the Year, decided to play for Paul Pasqualoni's Huskies, one of 24 players who signed national letters of intent Wednesday. Six members of the incoming class hail from Connecticut, a sure sign that Pasqualoni's long-standing solid relationship with many of the state's high school coaches is starting to pay dividends.

"It's a good, solid class," Pasqualoni said during a press conference at Rentschler Field. "We're trying to recruit pro-type, size guys. We'd like to have a big, athletic, fast, smart, tough football team here at UConn. The size factor is a big part of what we're doing."

First and foremost was the signing of Boyle, who led Xavier to a third straight Class LL title and passed for nearly 2,500 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior. Even better, Boyle stands 6-foot-4, weighs 215 pounds and has a rifle arm.

"I'm extremely excited to have Tim Boyle coming in to play here," Pasqualoni said. "Timmy's growth potential is excellent. His skill set is excellent. His passion for the game, his focus, his commitment are all what you hope for in a quarterback."

According to Rivals.com, the Huskies' 2013 class was rated 61st overall -- the highest ranking UConn has received since it went Division I-A in 2002 -- and its No. 5 ranking among Big East schools ties its highest previous ranking, set in 2009. Before that, the Huskies had never been ranked higher than sixth in the Big East by Rivals.com.

Another top recruiting website, Scout.com, placed the Huskies' class at 56th overall, its highest ranking since its 2007 class was ranked 53rd. It is the second highest class ranking by Scout.com since UConn became a Division I-A program. Scout.com also ranked the Huskies third among Big East schools, its highest conference ranking ever.

Key to that was the fact that Pasqualoni was able to land five of the state's top 10 recruits, including Boyle (No. 2 state ranking by Rivals.com), Cheshire Academy linebacker Cory Jasudowich (No. 4), St. Luke's of New Canaan wide receiver Noel Thomas (No. 5), Hand of Madison running back Matt Walsh (No. 9) and Coventry tight end Tommy Myers (No. 10). Defensive end Cole Ormsby of Windsor was unranked by Rivals.com.

Jasudowich had been recruited by Penn State, Iowa, Boston College and Maryland among others, while Boyle also had Florida, Pitt, Syracuse, Oregon and Rutgers on his radar screen.

"Matt Walsh is very athletic and he can play the fullback position," Pasqualoni said, in listing off each of the six state players' attributes. "He's a very high motor player.

"Cole is an outstanding young man. He's at 6-foot-4, about 235 right now, and in two years, he'll be up to 260. He's big, tough and athletic.

"Cory has pro-type size and is another high motor guy, like Matt. He has the toughness and the skill set to be a good linebacker.

"Tommy's a tall guy (6-foot-5) and like Cole, in a couple of years, he'll be up to 260 pounds (he's listed at 237). He can be a solid `unit' tight end, which means he's the one that lines up on the line of scrimmage to block, but he can also run and get downfield.

"Noel gives us a taller wide receiver, a little bit more like our `X' and `Z' outside receivers. Soft hands, excellent skill set. He's very good with production after the catch."

The previous high class ranking for the Huskies from Rivals.com was 65th back in 2007. Over the past five recruiting classes by Rivals, UConn was ranked 77th, 100th, 83rd, 75th and 71st. Scout.com's last five UConn classes were ranked 66th, 81st, 69th, 76th and 70th.

When Pasqualoni was hired back in January of 2011, many of the state's high school coaches were excited about the possibility of the UConn coach keeping much of the best talent right here at home.

So far, so good.

"The Connecticut high school coaches, I can't thank them enough for keeping the door open for us and giving us a chance to come in and recruit," Pasqualoni said. "They gave us a chance to really work the recruiting in the state. They were a big part of this."